Vodafone has struck a deal with new deal with Indian value added services provider OnMobile that will see it extend its Ringback Tone (RBT) service to customers in emerging markets, outside of India. The announcement forms a separate agreement to an existing successful partnership Vodafones Indian operation has with OnMobile.  Currently, millions of Vodafone customers in India use the RBT service, which will be rolled out across Vodafones other emerging markets from the spring.
RBTs are widely used in Asia, where they make up a large proportion of business in the non-downloadable content market. Instead of listening to a traditional dial tone when calling someone, RBTs let the caller listen to a song or other audio clip chosen by the owner of the mobile they are calling.  
Anyone with a mobile phone can use ring back tones, says Bobby Rao, Internet Services Marketing Director at Vodafone. They can be personalised for individual callers and contain music, greetings and jokes, as well as special audio effects. Vodafone was one of the first operators to introduce ring back tones and through this deal, we will now be able offer customers in Africa, the rest of Asia and central Europe an affordable way to personalise their phones.